When someone says ‘behavioural science’, my mind starts thinking about psychopaths and serial killers. But in the tech world it’s perceived as something entirely different and a lot less violent. Scientists have long studied behaviours, needs, feelings and how they effect human interactions in a bid to simulate human behaviour in machines. Behavioural study is used with natural language processing so that computers understand humans and can in turn simulate them. Machine says hello has put used AI to demonstrate real life applications. Alfie Atkins Says Hello: Alfie is like a virtual friend. He greets the kids when they come close enough and then engages them in a number of activities. He dances with them, plays hide and seek and interacts with them. The best part is that he gauges how the children are reacting to his gestures and responds accordingly. So if the kid is being too mischievous Alfie can get angry. If he is enjoying himself he will appear happy. There can be numerous applications of Alfie in everyday life. Single child parents can get their child a little Alfie to play with. It can do occupational therapy sessions with kids who have minor disabilities by getting them interested in the exercise. Interactive Animals: If you thought James Cameron was the only one who had the smarts to think up new species, you are totally mistaken. Machine says hello has collaborated with Linköping University to create a whole zoo of fantasy animals that interact with each other and with the visitors at the Visualization centre. Source: Sam Daily Times, Image: flickr.com
